Today electronic consumer devices are available for accessing any piece of media for information or entertainment purposes anytime anywhere. Any media content, either previously stored or generated by the consumer device, for example music, video, games or other textual, audible or visual content, such as pictures or maps, may be provided to a user of the consumer device. A consumer device may be, for example, a portable media device, such as a smartphone, a satellite navigation system, a music or video player, a portable computer, or any other device for audibly or visually providing sound, text or other visual information to a user, either from stored data or received from a remote transmitter, such as a satellite providing positioning information or accessed via a communication network, e.g., the internet, using a wireless or wired connection. Display technology, for example, is available for providing displays of many different sizes and quality at affordable prices. This allows providing displays for multi-media services in many locations and technical apparatuses, such as, for example, inside a car, for example, within the dashboard or the centre console or at the back side of the front seat. A display may, for example, also be a head-up display (HUD) for projecting visual information on the windscreen. Wired and wireless technologies allow for spatial separation of display and processing device.
Any technical apparatus requiring a user or an operator may be enhanced with comfort functions, for example, information or entertainment functions, which are not required for the core tasks of the apparatus, but may provide stress relief, enjoyment or additional information during operational phases that require less attention by the operator. This in response may help increase effectiveness and concentration of the operator during operational phases of the apparatus that require a high level of attention by the operator. Additionally, comfort functions may allow a more impressive presentation of certain information and to combine them with additional information.
If the technical apparatus is a safety critical apparatus that requires supervision or operational input by an operator for correct and safe performance, distraction of the operator may be dangerous in certain situations where a high level of attention is necessary. A safety critical apparatus may, for example, be any technical apparatus, wherein an improper usage, unexpected failure or malfunction may result in major damage or a dangerous situation, for example, for the operator or other people. A safety critical apparatus, may, for example, be (a part of) a power plant, a chemical or other industrial plant, a railway control centre or any vehicle that carries at least an operator or moves fast enough to cause damage to the ambient environment in case of a malfunction.
For example, an operator of a vehicle may be, e.g., a driver of a car, a truck, a bike, a motor bike or a pilot of a plane, a captain of a ship or boat, or an engine driver of a train, just to name a few.
Modern cars or trucks, for example, often provide consumer devices integrated into the infrastructure of the vehicle or interfaces for connecting with portable media devices or consumer devices such as, for example, telephones, satellite navigation devices or smart phones or other media devices or consumer devices suitable for automotive infotainment.
In US 2010/0293462, a system for transferring a user interface of a portable media device to a remote device is shown. The system may be used in a car, where a user interface of the device may be integrated, for example, in the dashboard of the car.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,881,710, a system for managing features available on a communication device, based on a travel speed detected by the portable communication device is shown. Here, the operability of features within the portable communication device is changed depending on a threshold for the speed of the device.
In US 2009/0309787, a global positioning system (GPS) device is used to determine the speed of a mobile electronic device, and the operation of the mobile electronic device is controlled in response to the speed exceeding a speed threshold.